Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Letting my body just BE.....

Have you read Vahni's latest post on Feel Fit February?  If you haven't click over, read it and come back please!  And while I was typing this, I clicked over and she already has a new post about the scale, so please read it as well.  I think you'll either see yourself or many of your friends in how Vahni describes her relationship with the scale.  

Body obsession has been a theme of my life.  My epitaph could read "She always wanted her mother" or "She dieted"!  Because I've spent the bulk of my life doing both of those.  And it doesn't make for a happy or content existence. Think about the demands we make on our bodies.  We expect it to give us....
  • Our desired weight number
  • Our desired waist size
  • Our desired thigh, hips, butt, bust size
  • Our desired clothing size
  • Our desired proportions
  • Immune against sickness
Surely, if our bodies could talk to us audibly, they'd be saying, "Are you freaking kidding me?!?!?!"

Why, really WHY is it so hard to just be thankful for our bodies?  Why do we see our appearance as a barometer of how desirable we are?  Why does a number on a scale or the fit of a pair of jeans control our mood, our self esteem?  Why do intelligent, bright, creative and beautiful women obsess over something as fickle and superficial as weight/size?

No finger pointing here, because as I've said, this has been a struggle for me and I'm just OVER it!  At 46 years old, I don't want to head into my 50's STILL obsessing about my weight.  

I have a wonderful friend who is a trainer and an athlete.  Mandy and I have worked together and had TONS of conversations about weight and our/most women's obsession with it.  I love her healthy attitude toward her body. She feeds it real food and works out.   Mandy admonishes her clients to "let your body just BE"; stop trying to GET it to look a certain way".  Isn't this brilliant!  What a concept!!  Let our bodies BE!  Treat our bodies with kindness.  Feed my body well with the food it needs.  Rest it well.  Think on good things and relax the brain.  And then, wherever my body "lands" after that, that's where it supposed to be.  

And that's what I'm trying to live now!  Just let my body BE!

By the way, is this a cultural phenomenon among American women?  Do women in other countries give much thought to the size or weight of their bodies?   If you have any answers, I'm all ears!

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Blouse:  Silk, Ellen Tracy, thrifted  Boots:  Jessica Simpson via TJ Maxx  Pants:  J Crew  


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  Like how I used a butterfly sticker to cover the dumpsters??
While I'm not usually a fan of embellishments, I do love the corset laces in the back of the boots!

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Okay, so I had to put on a bit for my sweet baby!  He played photographer and I played DIVA!




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9 comments:

  1. Serene--wonderful post and thanks for the link to Vahni!!
    It's so true--I am more than a number on a scale, tapemeasure or label. I just want to get healthier.

    Love the outfit and the boots are KILLER!!

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  2. Great post, Serene. We can be so hard on ourselves, when we would be kind to a friend or even a stranger. Love those laced-up boots, girlfriend! xoxoxo

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  3. I am feelin ya .Serene! I too gained about30 lbs. over last year and was actually clinically depressed over the whole thing. I sure there's a lesson in there somewhere ;)
    Hugs
    Reva

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  4. I think this has to be my top favorite outfit of yours Serene!! That color brown looks gorgeous on you...and I'm loving the attitude. I am working through much when it comes to my weight, so I am not yet ready to just Be....but I hope someday to achieve that goal. you are beautiful!!

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  5. Cute, Serene! Love the posing~
    xoxo

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  6. Miss Diva! You look BEAUTIFUL!
    Healthy body, healthy mind...rest will take care of itself. <3

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  7. How fantastic you look! And if you were focused on looking like a 20 year old super model, you wouldn't have noticed. I love the self acceptance- and truly that is a cultural shift we need to inject in our present youth-obsessed media drenched culture. I hear in France, style is about style not perfection so women are allowed to feel sexy and sultry even as they age. Perhaps the details are what makes us accept our real bodies over our ideal bodies. The diva attitude is so sexy- as much as those killer back laces on your boots.

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  8. You look so cute in that outfit!
    This obsession with weight seems to get worse every year. One of the best things I have heard about a country actually doing something about it is when Spain (I think) banned fashion shows from using models with too low a percentage of body fat.

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  9. I love your attitude! Those boots are to die for though I probably would die if I tried walking anywhere with those heels!

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Thanks for stopping by and leaving a comment! ~Serene